Why is the Bond So Massive?

Why are the politicians in Gilbert asking for so much money? $515 million is a mountain of money! Why is this bond so expensive? If it truly was just about roads and infrastructure or safety and congestion, the Town would be able to make a clear list of the projects. The truth is that we probably only need another $100 million for the next 10 years. So why ask for so much?

The reason is simple: the politician and bureaucrat’s aspiration called City of the Future. (FYI…We are not a city we are a Town.)The Town staff has been peddling this pipe dream for a few years and it is wildly expensive! I’m not sure the average resident truly understands what this initiative means.

So here’s the playbook. The Town wants to gamble with your money on unproven things like light-rail, 5G, and other “multi-modal transportation” schemes. The wasteful spending actually has already started. A few years ago, the Town spent nearly $500 thousand of dollars on consultants to create a transportation master plan. While planning is critical and the masterplan had some good recommendations, the study didn’t need to cost this much and it was littered with experimental and wasteful projects that will cost hundreds of millions of dollars.

Instead of sticking to the safe and reliable traffic technologies which truly elevate our safety and reduce congestion, the Town is using our hard-earned money on wasteful and unproven ideas cooked up by traffic consultants and developers. Where these crazy ideas have been implemented, we have actually seen a reduction in individual mobility and public transportation schemes that have only increase crime and spread homeless. (Ever been to Mesa or Phoenix lately?)

Of course this bond is being aggressively pushed by the likes of big-spending politicians, the liberal Chamber of Commerce, and our Vice Mayor, who by the way, is a transportation consultant. Remember, these sectors stand to make millions off the taxpayers. If passed, this bond will be the largest wealth transfer in Gilbert history. What else could you do without this tax increase?

Are we going to be suckered into voting for this bond? I hope not. Mesa fell for this same sales pitch a few years ago and their roads and infrastructure are worse than ever. Don’t think we are that much different.

Let’s not fall for this bond. $100 million is more than enough to keep our streets infrastructure. Vote “No” on the bond and tell 10 of your friends to vote “No” as well.